Marriott rolled out its Bonvoy loyalty programme on February 13, bringing Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred and Ritz-Carlton Rewards under one roof.
As is often the case with loyalty programme launches, not everything went smoothly.
Now, a website called Bonvoyed.com has been launched, an unofficial website for people to post their stories about the new service, or in the website's words, stories about people who got ‘Bonvoyed’.
Guests have posted on the website regularly complaining about Bonvoy deducting points twice as well as a poor customer service phone lines.
“As typical, the points were deducted for my stay at the time of booking. One week before arrival, the hotel sends an email stating I don't have enough points. I get on the phone and tell them they were already deducted when I made the reservation. They disagreed. In addition to deducting the points twice, I also had to purchase 3500 points because I was short,” said one Marriott guest with Titanium Status.
One long-term employee explained the issues they had with the loyalty programme’s rollout.
“I’ve worked for Marriott for 14 years. I’ll tell you the problem: they rushed it. Officially they bought SPG two years ago, however, no one could share info until August 2018,” said an anonymous corporate employee.
“They have a good plan in mind. However, it’s like a five-year plan. They tried to do it overnight.”
The website plans to rectify guests who feel unsatisfied with Bonvoy, helping guests “find a new place to stay without losing all of the perks and benefits you expect and deserve”.
